-IANS Referring to the debate on security of Aadhaar data, Prasad said the biometric information -- which includes iris scan and fingerprints -- is stored in an encrypted form and is very secure. In a bid to check the menace of multiple driving licences being issued to individuals, the central government will soon introduce linking of Aadhaar with driving licences, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday. The Minister for Electronics and...

-The Indian Express The Supreme Court is hearing a petition challenging making Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits under various social welfare schemes of the government. The next hearing is in the first week of November. New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday said the Aadhaar law will “pass the test of constitutionality” and that it is important to build “ironwalls” to protect people’s data. He said the Aadhaar scheme announced by the...

-Hindustan Times Of the affected states are also those announced farm loan waivers just months ago to bail out beleaguered farming community. With the southwest monsoon season about to end in less than three weeks’ time, the government’s drought warning system predicts there could be a drought in 225 districts across “17 agriculturally important states of India,” putting further strain on distressed agriculture sector. According to the government’s National Agriculture and Drought...

-NDTV The Modi government is finally getting some flak, as it should, for its confused economic policies, epitomised by the demonetisation blunder last year. Despite relatively favourable circumstances (including good monsoons and a decline in international fuel prices), the rate of economic growth is declining quarter after quarter. For manufacturing, it is even close to zero, according to the latest estimates. Statistics related to employment and wages are even more worrying....

-The Indian Express Activists said that this goes against the spirit of the demand-driven scheme, which has seen a spurt in demand due to rural distress triggered by droughts, floods, and post-demonetisation reverse migration. New Delhi: CONSTANT under-funding of MGNREGA, the rural employment guarantee scheme, is leading to low employment generation on the ground, with only 46 days of work being provided per employed household on an average over the last five...